Our last day at our happy place!! My DW and oldest DD left early in the morning for their DVC presentation, which left my other DD and I to load the minivan for the trip home. When we first started coming down, we used to take a midday flight back to NJ. That's when it dawned on us if we took the last flight home, we could spend a whole day at the World! So for the last few visits, we take the 9:15 pm fight home, which allows us to check out of the resort, leave our packed van at AOA, and enjoy a whole day (until 6 pm or so), hopping to any park for a last ride on one of our favorites. Since the magic bands are active until 11:59 pm of your last day, why waste the days ticket and leave early, when you can get a last taste of Disney?
The other half of the family met us at MK around 11 and started using the 12 FP's they received. We were able to use them on any NON E ticket attraction, so no Pandora or 7DMT, but we did Pooh, PP, JC and HM. We had several QS meals left, so we had lunch and converted the last 7 QS into snacks, had a few last Dole whip floats and bought plenty of snacks for the flight home, or so we thought...you know the old saying "everything happens for a reason"?
Off on a tangent here, but I know the subject of restroom cleanliness has been a sore point on the threads...that was one of the major complaints of the women in the family...as a guy, I don't make a habit of checking the conditions in ladies rooms, LOL, and I'm not that "tuned in" to men's room conditions, (we're pigs after all), but having worked in retail management for 30+ years, I DO know that ladies rooms ARE dirtier then men's rooms. I understand that is a very touchy subject (and should be) with the better half. At WDW, according to my women, the Rapunzel restrooms across from PP at the MK were the cleanest. The rest varied from ok to meh...one thing is for certain, they are definitely NOT the same as they were in the days of attendants!
One last note on mobility scooters or ECV's...there is a new company in Orlando called Gold Mobility Scooters...they feature all new 2018 models with all the bells and whistles for rent. They drop it off right at your resort, and each customer has a 24/7 direct contact concierge at your disposal. Upon rental, they give you a mobility scooter attraction guide which shows you the accessibility of EVERY attraction not only at WDW, but UNI, SW, LEGOLAND and more! I had the opportunity to "test drive" one of their latest models, and it surpassed all my expectations. The complimentary guide is almost worth the cost of the rental! They also rent single & double strollers, pack-n-play cribs and inflatable toddler beds. You can contact them at 407-414-0287 or www.GoldMobilityScooters.com. NO, I DIDN'T GET ANY COMPENSATION for the endorsement...Mike is a good friend of mine and knew we were coming down...(AND dropped off the Poland Spring water on our first day) I HAD to repay him somehow!! LOL
For ANYONE renting ANY ECV's while at WDW, either for the first time or with a new model, I STRONGLY URGE the driver to take 15 minutes or so at the resort, BEFORE you get on the bus or enter the parks to familiarize yourself on the ECV...just like with any car, each model has its own idiosyncrasies...steering, braking, acceleration, etc. that is unique to each model. Trust me, spending this short amount of time beforehand, will make life in the parks MUCH more enjoyable for you and your party. If you notice that the ECV needs a little charge, don't be afraid to ask a CM or wait staff at a restaurant if/ where you could "plug in" for a short time. Now that WDW is adding charging stations for electric cars and cell phones, how about adding some simple outlets throughout the parks for ECV's...maybe where the stroller parking areas are?? I know, I know, but sometimes it's the little things!!
NOW FOR THE TRIP HOME...we had a 9:15 pm flight out of Orlando to Atlantic City, NJ...since the van was all packed, we left AOA at around 5:30...with traffic, and dropping off the van, we arrived at our terminal at around 6:45...IMAGINE OUR SUPRIZE when we saw the line of THOUSANDS (no lie) of passengers waiting for TSA!!! It turns out that about an hour before we got there, someone's lap top battery exploded in the inspection area...half the people ran thru the inspection area and to the gates, and the others ran back into the terminal. The terminal was evacuated, and ANY plane that took off within 15 minutes of the incident had to turn around, passengers had to deplane and go thru TSA again. TSA didn't know if the people who ran thru to their gates were properly vetted, so everyone had to return.
There was ABSOLUTELY NO communication between us and our airline Spirit via airport announcements or web site. Because of the terminal gridlock, you weren't allowed anywhere near the ticket counters to speak with a human being. Because Spirit has a smaller fleet of planes and they were needed for Saturday's flights, all the planes took off with just the flight crews. EVERYONE, no matter which airline you were on, missed their flights. We overheard a person who was lucky enough to speak with someone at Spirit, that they wouldn't have extra plans in Orlando until Tuesday!!! This was Friday night!!! My DW asked what we were going to do, so I said "follow me", we got out of line and made our way back to the rental counters...we weren't the only ones with that idea!!
Only 1 company, Thrifty, had one way rentals available...for $625.00!! It has always been on my bucket list to drive from NJ to FLA and back...my DW wanted NO part of that dream! Guess what? Yes, she was and I am now able to cross this off but on someone else's terms, not mine.
By the time we left the airport, it was 10:30...the Kia Sorento might have had a full tank, but I didn't!! We took Rt. 4 East to 95 North and drove until we hit Ormond Beach, Fl., found a motel and got a FEW hours of sleep.
We were up at 5am, and in our same clothes, (everything in our bags was dirty), and started driving north. I pretty much stayed in the right and middle lanes, did between 75 & 90 m.p.h. and cars were passing us by like we were standing still! Also, out of every 10 cars traveling north, 5 had Florida plates! Several bathroom breaks, gas stops and lunch at a Chik-Fil-A in Virginia and we made it to the NJ state line at around 9 pm...To add insult to injury, we had to drive to the Atlantic City airport to pick up MY truck, so we finally walked in our front door at 11:15 pm. Another kicker was that the only place to return our rental was at Newark Airport, 75 miles north, so first thing Sunday morning, on the road again! At the Thrifty rental check in, they were processing about 50 cars...out of the 50, about 40 had Florida plates!
The cost for our flight home for the 4 of us was about $1200.00...we spent $625.00 for the rental, about $100.00 in gas, and about a hundred bucks for the motel. We actually had a great time driving, a REAL opportunity for family bonding (even if it was a little rushed), AND to top it all off, my DW WANTS to drive down the next time we go!!! Spirit refunded the $1200.00, so we lost a day in travel, but gained 375.00! We can't wait for our next road trip to WDW!!!
I just want to thank everyone who read all of my posts, NOW I KNOW, I could have put them all on one thread...I guess I'm not the thread pro I thought I was!! I hope the information was useful and thanks for putting up with me!!
The other half of the family met us at MK around 11 and started using the 12 FP's they received. We were able to use them on any NON E ticket attraction, so no Pandora or 7DMT, but we did Pooh, PP, JC and HM. We had several QS meals left, so we had lunch and converted the last 7 QS into snacks, had a few last Dole whip floats and bought plenty of snacks for the flight home, or so we thought...you know the old saying "everything happens for a reason"?
Off on a tangent here, but I know the subject of restroom cleanliness has been a sore point on the threads...that was one of the major complaints of the women in the family...as a guy, I don't make a habit of checking the conditions in ladies rooms, LOL, and I'm not that "tuned in" to men's room conditions, (we're pigs after all), but having worked in retail management for 30+ years, I DO know that ladies rooms ARE dirtier then men's rooms. I understand that is a very touchy subject (and should be) with the better half. At WDW, according to my women, the Rapunzel restrooms across from PP at the MK were the cleanest. The rest varied from ok to meh...one thing is for certain, they are definitely NOT the same as they were in the days of attendants!
One last note on mobility scooters or ECV's...there is a new company in Orlando called Gold Mobility Scooters...they feature all new 2018 models with all the bells and whistles for rent. They drop it off right at your resort, and each customer has a 24/7 direct contact concierge at your disposal. Upon rental, they give you a mobility scooter attraction guide which shows you the accessibility of EVERY attraction not only at WDW, but UNI, SW, LEGOLAND and more! I had the opportunity to "test drive" one of their latest models, and it surpassed all my expectations. The complimentary guide is almost worth the cost of the rental! They also rent single & double strollers, pack-n-play cribs and inflatable toddler beds. You can contact them at 407-414-0287 or www.GoldMobilityScooters.com. NO, I DIDN'T GET ANY COMPENSATION for the endorsement...Mike is a good friend of mine and knew we were coming down...(AND dropped off the Poland Spring water on our first day) I HAD to repay him somehow!! LOL
For ANYONE renting ANY ECV's while at WDW, either for the first time or with a new model, I STRONGLY URGE the driver to take 15 minutes or so at the resort, BEFORE you get on the bus or enter the parks to familiarize yourself on the ECV...just like with any car, each model has its own idiosyncrasies...steering, braking, acceleration, etc. that is unique to each model. Trust me, spending this short amount of time beforehand, will make life in the parks MUCH more enjoyable for you and your party. If you notice that the ECV needs a little charge, don't be afraid to ask a CM or wait staff at a restaurant if/ where you could "plug in" for a short time. Now that WDW is adding charging stations for electric cars and cell phones, how about adding some simple outlets throughout the parks for ECV's...maybe where the stroller parking areas are?? I know, I know, but sometimes it's the little things!!
NOW FOR THE TRIP HOME...we had a 9:15 pm flight out of Orlando to Atlantic City, NJ...since the van was all packed, we left AOA at around 5:30...with traffic, and dropping off the van, we arrived at our terminal at around 6:45...IMAGINE OUR SUPRIZE when we saw the line of THOUSANDS (no lie) of passengers waiting for TSA!!! It turns out that about an hour before we got there, someone's lap top battery exploded in the inspection area...half the people ran thru the inspection area and to the gates, and the others ran back into the terminal. The terminal was evacuated, and ANY plane that took off within 15 minutes of the incident had to turn around, passengers had to deplane and go thru TSA again. TSA didn't know if the people who ran thru to their gates were properly vetted, so everyone had to return.
There was ABSOLUTELY NO communication between us and our airline Spirit via airport announcements or web site. Because of the terminal gridlock, you weren't allowed anywhere near the ticket counters to speak with a human being. Because Spirit has a smaller fleet of planes and they were needed for Saturday's flights, all the planes took off with just the flight crews. EVERYONE, no matter which airline you were on, missed their flights. We overheard a person who was lucky enough to speak with someone at Spirit, that they wouldn't have extra plans in Orlando until Tuesday!!! This was Friday night!!! My DW asked what we were going to do, so I said "follow me", we got out of line and made our way back to the rental counters...we weren't the only ones with that idea!!
Only 1 company, Thrifty, had one way rentals available...for $625.00!! It has always been on my bucket list to drive from NJ to FLA and back...my DW wanted NO part of that dream! Guess what? Yes, she was and I am now able to cross this off but on someone else's terms, not mine.
By the time we left the airport, it was 10:30...the Kia Sorento might have had a full tank, but I didn't!! We took Rt. 4 East to 95 North and drove until we hit Ormond Beach, Fl., found a motel and got a FEW hours of sleep.
We were up at 5am, and in our same clothes, (everything in our bags was dirty), and started driving north. I pretty much stayed in the right and middle lanes, did between 75 & 90 m.p.h. and cars were passing us by like we were standing still! Also, out of every 10 cars traveling north, 5 had Florida plates! Several bathroom breaks, gas stops and lunch at a Chik-Fil-A in Virginia and we made it to the NJ state line at around 9 pm...To add insult to injury, we had to drive to the Atlantic City airport to pick up MY truck, so we finally walked in our front door at 11:15 pm. Another kicker was that the only place to return our rental was at Newark Airport, 75 miles north, so first thing Sunday morning, on the road again! At the Thrifty rental check in, they were processing about 50 cars...out of the 50, about 40 had Florida plates!
The cost for our flight home for the 4 of us was about $1200.00...we spent $625.00 for the rental, about $100.00 in gas, and about a hundred bucks for the motel. We actually had a great time driving, a REAL opportunity for family bonding (even if it was a little rushed), AND to top it all off, my DW WANTS to drive down the next time we go!!! Spirit refunded the $1200.00, so we lost a day in travel, but gained 375.00! We can't wait for our next road trip to WDW!!!
I just want to thank everyone who read all of my posts, NOW I KNOW, I could have put them all on one thread...I guess I'm not the thread pro I thought I was!! I hope the information was useful and thanks for putting up with me!!